Device for storing projectile balls and for feeding them to the projectile chamber of a hand weapon

ABSTRACT

A device for storing projectile balls and for feeding them to the projectile chamber of a hand weapon ( 1 ), with a ball container ( 3 ), with a conveying tube ( 2 ) which is connected at one end to the latter and the other end of which leads to the weapon ( 1 ), and with a conveyor for conveying a continuous row of balls out of the ball container ( 3 ) into the conveying tube, wherein the conveying tube ( 2 ) is designed as a flexible long conveying hose and the ball container ( 3 ) is provided with a carrying fixture ( 12 ) independent of the weapon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In sports weapons with spherical ammunition, so-called paintballs, amagazine container is usually placed onto the weapon above theprojectile chamber, the individual balls being fed out of the magazinecontainer to the projectile chamber as a result of the effect ofgravity, by means of compressed air or by mechanical conveying means(U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,816,232, 5,282,454, 5,794,606, DE-U-83 14 931, U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,097,816, 5,511,333, 5,736,720, WO98/13660, U.S. Pat. Nos.5,063,905, 3,788,298, 5,505,188, DE-C-37 21 527, U.S. Pat. Nos.5,771,875, 1,403,719, 1,743,576, 3,695,246, 5,282,454, 1,404,689). Inthese, the size of the magazine is disadvantageously restricted, becausethe weapon has to remain easily maneuverable. The object on which theinvention is based is to provide a magazine loading device whichovercomes this disadvantage. Launching appliances for play balls (U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,844,267, 4,207,857, 3,248,008, 3,610,223, 3,867,921,4,027,646) have a stationary design and therefore cannot give anysuggestion as to how the moveability of a sports weapon, despite beingequipped with a large magazine, can be improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a ball container forming the magazine is provided,independently of the weapon, and is equipped with a carrying fixturewhich makes it possible to carry said ball container, for example, onthe belt, on the back or in any other desired place. The balls aretransported from the ball container to the weapon by means of a longflexible conveying hose which does not obstruct the maneuverability ofthe weapon.

For conveying the balls from the ball container to the weapon, knowntechniques may be adopted, for example compressed-air conveyance, if thecontainer is equipped with a compression-air accumulator or the conveyorhose is connected to a compressed-air line which leads compressed gasfrom the weapon to the magazine. In general, however, it is moreexpedient to use a mechanical conveyor which obtains its drive energyfrom an energy accumulator, for example an electric battery, which isindependent of the weapon and is arranged near the magazine. This avoidsthe need, between the weapon and the magazine, for additionalconnections which make the arrangement complicated and susceptible tofaults and also make it more difficult for the magazine and conveyingarrangement to be adaptable to different weapon systems.

In order to make a high rate of fire possible, it is necessary to ensurethat the projectile chamber of the weapon is filled with a new ballagain immediately after a shot has been fired. If this is to be carriedout solely by the conveyor remote from the weapon, the conveyor motormust have a very high power rating. It is therefore more expedient,according to the invention, to have an arrangement in which the conveyoris designed to maintain a conveying force which is exerted constantly onthe row of balls and which is transmitted via a spring means, the springexcursion of which is at least as great as the diameter of a ball. Thisensures that, when the projectile chamber is being emptied and opened,the next ball is pressed into the projectile chamber immediately as aresult of the effect of the spring force, without this operation beingdirectly dependent on the power output of the conveyor motor. The springmeans may be selected to have a spring excursion such that, in the caseof a rapid rate of fire, the projectile chamber can be refilled severaltimes in succession solely by means of the spring effect.

For this purpose, a special spring may be provided in the conveyingmeans. Instead, it is also possible for the elasticity of the hoseand/or of the row of balls between the conveyor and the weapon to beutilized in order to form the spring means. The overall spring effectmay also be composed of the individual effects of a spring provided inthe conveying means, of the hose and of the row of balls.

In order to keep the size of the energy accumulator serving for drivingthe conveyor motor small, it is expedient to switch off the motor duringfiring intermissions. This is known (U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232). In theknown arrangement, the row of balls is fed by a positive-drive conveyorto a fall zone, the lower end of which opens out in the projectilechamber of the weapon. As soon as the fall zone is filled, the motor isswitched off. When a sensor detects that a gap has occurred in the fallzone due to the consumption of balls, the motor is switched on again, inorder to fill this gap by the reconveyance of balls. The need for asensor provided in the fall zone makes the arrangement more complicated.Moreover, on the assumption that, according to the invention, themagazine is arranged remotely from the weapon, the sensor signal wouldhave to be supplied to the conveying system remote from the weapon. Theabovementioned spring effect for refeeding balls into the projectilechamber makes it possible to dispense with this complicated arrangement,in that the switching off and on of the motor is made dependent on thestate of the spring force. If the spring force (or the spring travel asa measure of the spring force) falls below a predetermined thresholdbecause balls have been consumed, the motor is switched on again. Thelatter runs until a predetermined threshold of the spring force or ofthe spring travel is exceeded.

The measuring means necessary for this purpose are very simple. If aspecial spring is used in conjunction with the conveying means, it caneasily be detected, by the means of two limit switches, when thedeflection of the spring exceeds or falls short of a specific value.Likewise, it can easily be detected, by means of pressure sensors, whenthe spring exceeds or falls short of a specific force threshold. If aspring is not provided, the force threshold can easily be measured onthe element which exerts the conveying force on the row of balls. Ifthis is the rotor described further below, it is possible, for example,to evaluate the torque of the rotor shaft. Finally, there is thepossibility of using the current consumption of the motor as a signalfor the conveying force generated by it. Electronic circuits, which maybe used for evaluating the signals mentioned and for switching the motoron and off, are generally known and therefore do not need to bedescribed. So that the spring force does not decrease due to the drivemechanism running in reverse after the motor has been switched off, saiddrive mechanism is expediently designed to be self-locking. This isnormally the case when a gearing is provided between the motor and themember which transmits the conveying force to the row of balls.

Although the ball container of the device according to the invention canhave virtually any desired size, it may be desirable, for practicalreasons, to have size variability. This may be brought about not only bykeeping containers of different size ready, but also by connecting afurther or a plurality of further ball containers to an existingcontainer or conveyor or conveying hose. For example, a first ballcontainer may be provided with an inlet orifice, to which the outlet ofa second ball container, likewise provided with a conveyor, isconnected, so that the second ball container fills up the first, asrequired. On the other hand, there may be provision for connecting theplurality of ball containers in parallel, that is to say for having thepossibility of feeding balls simultaneously.

According to a further feature of the invention, the ball containerand/or the conveyor may be provided with a counting and indicatingmeans, in order to indicate the number of consumed balls and/or ballsstill remaining. Indication is expediently digital. An indication of thecharging state of the battery and/or the remaining playing time may alsobe provided.

It is known (U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232) to use, for conveying the balls, aconveying rotor which rotates in a cylindrical housing part and whichhas, on the circumference, a row of projections which form, in each casewith adjacent projections and the wall, conveying spaces for one balleach. The wall contains an outlet orifice, to which a conveying channelis connected. When the rotor rotates, the balls contained in theconveying spaces arrive in succession at the passage and are pressedthrough the latter into the conveying channel. The emptied conveyingspaces are filled up, under the effect of gravity, from the ball supplylocated above them. The balls are transferred from the conveying spacesinto the outlet orifice provided in the wall, in that there is arrangedon the bottom of the container a stationary guide wall, with which theballs come into contact below the projections of the rotor. Thisarrangement is effective only when the balls are prevented from slidingover and beyond the wall. This purpose is served by a housing wallwhich, however, has the disadvantage that it may happen that a ball notlying correctly in a conveying space is jammed between the free edge ofthe housing wall and a rotor projection and thereby blocks conveyance.

The invention eliminates this problem, in that the rotor projectionsturn the associated ball toward driving faces which are inclinedrelative to the circumferential direction and to the radial direction insuch a way that the driven ball is pressed against a bottom faceparallel to the rotor plane and against the wall and into an outletorifice which is contained in the wall and which is connected to theconveying hose. Solely as a result of the interaction of the obliquedriving faces with the balls, the latter are held in bearing contact onthe bottom and on the wall and are pressed into the outlet orifice assoon as the latter is reached. In order to reduce friction, the drivingface may be formed by a freely rotatable roller.

In order to make it easier for the balls to enter the conveying spaces,a surface portion of the projections which is not inclined relative tothe radius may be provided above each driving face. The conveying spacesare thereby preceded by receiving cells, into which the balls can fallmore easily from the supply and by which they are then guided to theconveying spaces, without being impeded by increased wall friction.

The movement of the balls into the conveying spaces may take place underthe effect of gravity if the axial arrangement of the rotor is vertical.If the intention is to be independent of gravity, so that thefunctioning of the conveyor can be ensured when the ball container is inany position, the ball supply above the rotor is expediently prestressedtoward the rotor by means of a spring force. Insofar as the aboveexplanation stated that the preceding cells are arranged above theconveying spaces or that the ball supply is located above the rotor,this relates to the vertical arrangement, with the rotor provided at thebottom. If the intention is to ensure that the conveyor functions evenin a position which is not vertical or is vertically reversed, a springmay be provided, which prestresses the ball supply toward the rotor viaa spring plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the drawingwhich illustrates an advantageous exemplary embodiment and in which:

FIG. 1 shows the device according to the invention during use,

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the ball container and the conveyor,partially in section and partly in schematic,

FIG. 3 shows a cross section through the ball container, with theviewing direction toward the conveyor,

FIG. 4 shows a part longitudinal section through the ball containertogether with the conveyor,

FIGS. 5 to 7 show cross sections through the ball container in theregion of the conveyor at different operating stages,

FIGS. 8 and 9 show part longitudinal sections through the conveyor on alarger scale,

FIG. 10 shows a part cross section through the conveyor on a largerscale,

FIG. 11 shows a diagrammatic illustration of a rotary coupling with aspring means and with sensing of the spring excursion, and

FIGS. 12 and 13 show coupled arrangements of two ball containers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

According to FIG. 1, a shooter uses a weapon 1, for example an air gunfor so-called paintballs, which is connected, via a flexible conveyinghose 2, to the ball container 3 containing the ammunition balls. Theseare conveyed in a continuous row, via the conveyor described later,through the conveying hose 2 to the projectile chamber of the gun 1. Atthe same time, they are under a spring force, so that, whenever a ballis fired and the empty projectile chamber opens, a new ball is pressedout of the conveying hose 2 or out of the weapon channel, followed bythe outlet end of the conveying hose 2, into the projectile chamber. Theball container 3 is fastened to the shooter's belt 4.

According to FIG. 2, the ball container 3 is designed cylindrically andis provided with a closing cover 5 which is connected via adiagrammatically indicated compression spring 6 to a pressure plate 7.The latter, under the effect of the spring 6, presses the containercontent away from the open container end, closed by the cover 5, towardthe other end of said container. Located at this other end is theconveyor 8 which is indicated merely diagrammatically in FIG. 2 andwhich conveys the balls into the outlet channel 9 of the ball container3, said outlet channel being connected to the inlet end of the conveyinghose 2. The conveyor 8 is driven by an electric motor 10 via a coupling11 to be described later. The motor 10 is driven by a battery, notillustrated, which is provided at a suitable point in the container 3.The container can be hung on the shooter's belt 4 by means of hooks 12.Moreover, a coupling means 13 may be provided for the selectiveattachment of the container to the weapon.

The spring plate 7 ensures that the balls contained in the container arefed to the conveyor 8 in any position of the container 3.

According to FIGS. 3 and 4, the conveyor 8 is formed by a disk 20 whichis arranged concentrically in a cylindrical part 21 of the container 3on a shaft 22 and which is driven in rotation in the direction of thearrow 28 by means of the motor 10. The disk 20 turns a plane or curvedsurface 23 toward the container space 13. The disk 20 carries, on itscircumference, a ring of projections 24 and recesses 25 which arelocated between these and which form with the inner face 26 receivingcells for balls 27 which are larger than the balls. Under the effect ofgravity or of the spring plate 7, the balls 27 therefore pass easilyinto these cells and are received by them.

As shown in FIG. 8, the edge 31 of the receiving cells 25 which islocated at the rear in the direction of rotation 30 may be beveled insuch a way that said edge urges the ball 27 falling into a receivingcell further downward in the direction of the arrow 32. This is alsoassisted by the relative movement in relation to the stationary ballswhich are located above it and one of which is indicated at 33.

The function of the receiving cells 25 is purely to receive the ballseasily and feed them to the conveying members explained later. It has noconveying function itself. Its size may be freely dimensioned solelyfrom the standpoint that the balls easily find their way into thereceiving cells and are easily transferred downward by them. So thatthose balls which are not located in the outer region of the container,but further inward radially, can also be caught, the receiving cells maybe widened inward, as indicated by dashes and dots in FIG. 3 at 34, theregion 35 between the dashed and dotted line 34 and the edge of thereceiving cell 25 being capable of being designed to descend obliquelyrelative to the receiving cell, in such a way that the balls are guidedinto the desired radially outer position, in which they can be picked upby the conveying members. Instead of the oblique face 35 on the disk 20,there may also be provision for prolonging the open cross section of thereceiving cells 25 radially inward along the line 34 and for providing acorresponding oblique face on a base 39 below the disk 20. Oblique faceson the base 39 and on the disk 20 may also be provided so as tocomplement one another.

When a ball is caught by a receiving cell 25 and is guided downward inthe direction of the arrow 32 (FIG. 8), it finally passes onto thebottom 40 which runs parallel to the disk 20 or perpendicularly to theshaft 22. In this position, the ball comes into contact with a roller 41which is mounted freely rotatably on a bearing journal 42 fastened tothe disk 20 perpendicularly to the latter. Each projection 24 of thedisk is provided with such a bearing journal 42 and with a roller 41.The lower face of the disk 20 is so high above the bottom 40 and therollers 41 are arranged so near the edge 31 of the receiving cells 25that the balls are picked up reliably by the rollers 41 and do notremain in contact with the fixed edge 31 of the receiving cells 25.

The axes of rotation of the rollers 41 are somewhat further away fromthe inner face 26 of the wall 21 than corresponds to the radius 43 ofthe balls. The radius of their circle of rotation 44 is thereforesmaller by the amount 45 than the radius of the circle of rotation 46 ofthe center points of the balls 27 when these bear both on the bottom 40and on the inner face 26 of the wall 21 (FIG. 10). The tangent to the(theoretically punctiform) face of contact 49 of the roller 41 with theradius therefore forms an accurate angle alpha. The direction of theconveying force 48 exerted by the roller 41 on the associated ball 27does not run in the circumferential direction, but has an outwardlydirected component, by means of which the ball 27 is held in bearingcontact on the inner face 26 of the wall 21.

A further obliquity of the face of contact 49 ensures that the balls 27,when they are in the conveying position (FIGS. 9 and 10), are alwaysheld in contact with the bottom 40. Specifically, the surface 47 of theroller 41 is designed conically, so that the face of contact 49 does notrun vertically, but, in the section according to FIG. 9, is inclined alittle downward and rearward at the angle beta. Consequently, theconveying force 48 exerted on the ball 27 contains a component which isdirected downward towards the bottom 40 and by means of which the ballis pressed against the bottom.

The conveying position of the balls is thereby determined in thesimplest, most reliable and most accurate way, specifically, on the onehand, by the bottom face 40 and the circumferential face 26 and, on theother hand, by the roller 41. This applies, irrespective of anytolerances in the position of the roller 41, insofar as the geometricconditions mentioned above are satisfied. The conveying device accordingto the invention therefore works very reliably and with a low level offaults.

The face of contact 49 does not necessarily have to be formed by aroller 41; instead, it may also be arranged fixedly on the disk 20.However, the design as a roller surface has the advantage that frictionis reduced. Specifically, the balls 27 pressed against the bottom 40 andwall face 26 tend to roll on these faces. If the face of contact 47 isformed by a roller surface, it can participate in this movement, withoutimpeding it. At the same time, it is particularly advantageous if theroller 41 is arranged in such a way that its axis of rotation runsparallel to that of the associated ball 27, that is to say at about 45°to the bottom face 40; however, an appreciable reduction in friction isalso achieved even when the roller axis 42 is positioned differentlyfrom this ideal direction for the sake of simpler production.

In order to ensure that the balls passing out of the receiving cellsinto the conveying position travel sufficiently far radially outward,the base 39 may be provided with a corresponding circumferential face38, of which the distance from the inner face 26 of the wall 21 is suchthat the balls 27 do not touch the face 38 when they are in theconveying position.

The outlet channel 9 follows the wall 21 tangentially, in such a waythat the center axis 50 of said outlet channel forms a tangent to thecenter point path 46 of the balls. Moreover, the outlet channel 9follows the bottom 40 continuously.

The components of the conveying force 48 which were explained above withreference to FIGS. 9 and 10 and which are directed toward the wall face26 and the bottom 40 ensure that the balls 27 approaching the outletchannel come into exact alignment with the latter (more precisely: withthe line of which the distance from the outer and lower wall of theoutlet duct is equal to the ball radius) and, finally, are pushed intosaid outlet channel. The latter occurrence becomes clear from aconsideration of the position sequence illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7. InFIG. 5, the ball 27 a has reached, on its center point path 46, thecenter line 50 of the outlet channel 9. In the course of its movement(FIGS. 6 and 7), it no longer follows the center point path 46, but,instead, the center line 50. At the same time, the angle alpha,explained with reference to FIG. 10, increases constantly, as does,consequently, the radially outward-directed force component exerted onthe ball by the associated conveying roller. With all the greaterreliability, the ball is held on the path which guides it into theoutlet channel. This can be seen clearly from a consideration of therelative position of the balls 27 b in FIGS. 5 and 6. Due to thegeometric conditions, the conveying speed of the ball 27 b decreases inthis path segment. Consequently, the distance of said ball from the ball27 a following it decreases it, until said distance disappears at thestage of FIG. 7 and a continuous row of balls conveyed through theoutlet channel 9 and into the conveying hose 2 is obtained.

The height of the surface 23 of the disk 20 above the bottom 40 is notappreciably smaller or is even a little greater than the diameter of theballs 27, in order to reduce the resistance which the stationary ballsexert on the balls moved through under them and located in the conveyingposition.

Provided on the container wall, a generous ball diameter above thesurface 23 of the disk 20, is an annually continuous collar 60 whichforms a brake for the balls pressing forward from above and which, aboveall, relieves those balls which are located above the disk 20 adjacentlyto the container wall and above the row of balls located in theconveyor. This, too, is a means of reducing the resistance exerted onthe moved balls by the stationary balls.

So that the receiving cell 51 (FIG. 3) just emptied in to the conveyingchannel 9 is not refilled prematurely, which under specific conditionscould lead to complications, this is prevented by the provision of afiller piece 52 which is fixed to the housing. Only when the cell 51 haspassed the filler piece 52 completely can it be refilled. The fillerpiece 52 has no function in guiding the balls 27 into the outlet channel9. This is because they are held in bearing contact on the radiallyouter face of the conveying channel by the outwardly directed componentof the conveying force 48 and therefore cannot touch the filler piece52.

As mentioned above, in order to achieve as high a rate of fire aspossible, it is necessary that the ball appearing directly at the breechof the projectile chamber of the weapon be under the conveying force andbe moved into the projectile chamber immediately after the latter isopened. This conveying force and conveying movement may be furnisheddirectly by the conveyor described and its drive, if the row of ballsand the conveying hose are imagined as being inelastic. For thispurpose, however, the motor would have to be of very high power in orderto overcome the inertia forces and be switched on constantly, even whena conveying movement is not taking place. This is highlyenergy-consuming. There is therefore provision for switching off themotor as soon as conveyance is not necessary, and a spring means isprovided which maintains the conveying force and generates the conveyingmovement. In a simplest case, this spring means is formed by theconveying hose and/or the row of balls. Under the conveying force, thehose is deflected elastically and generates a return force correspondingto the conveying force. The balls located in the conveying row arecorrespondingly pressed together elastically by the conveying force.When the sum of the elastic elongation of the hose and the elasticcompression of the row of balls is greater than at least one balldiameter, they can cause the ball which appears to be transferred intothe projectile chamber as a result of elastic contraction or expansion,even when the motor is not switched on. The same also applies to aplurality of balls in succession, if the elongation of the hose or thecompression of the row of balls is correspondingly high.

As a result there is sufficient conveying force available even for arelatively large burst of fire, the motor must start up immediately, asrequired. This is carried out by measuring the torque occurring on theshaft 22 of the conveyor, said torque being proportional to theconveying force prevailing in the row of balls. According to theinvention, the coupling 11 may be designed for measuring this torque andsignal the fact that the torque has fallen short of a predeterminedtorque threshold to the electronics which control the motor and whichthereupon switch the motor on. Conversely, they switch the motor offwhen the coupling 11 communicates the fact that a predetermined torquethreshold has been exceeded.

If the elasticity of the hose and of the row of balls is not sufficientfor forming the spring reserve, a special spring means is provided inthe construction, which may be arranged, for example, in the coupling 11and, diagrammatically, is designed as shown in FIG. 11. The innercoupling part 52 is driven in the direction of the arrow by the motor10. The outer coupling part 53 mounted concentrically thereto isconnected to the shaft 22 of the conveyor. The two coupling parts 52, 53have stops 54, 55 which are located opposite one another in thecircumferential direction and between which a compression spring 56acts. The latter is compressed as a result of the rotation of thedriving coupling part 52 and by the resistance of the row of balls. Oneof the coupling parts (the outer coupling part in the case illustrated)is provided with contacts or limit switches 57, 58 and the othercoupling part is provided with a boss 59 which co-operates with these.When a particular length of the spring 56 is exceeded and, consequently,when the torque acting between the coupling parts falls short of athreshold value, the contact 57 is closed. Its signal causes the motorto be started up. The spring 57 is thereby compressed, and the boss 59moves away from the contact 57, whilst approaching the contact 58. Assoon as a limit torque is reached, which corresponds to the desiredconveying force, the contact 58 is activated and causes the motor to beswitched off. When, as a result of a burst of fire, conveyance takesplace, as a result of which the energy of the spring 56 is consumed andthe latter is elongated, the motor is switched on when the conveyingforce threshold defined by the position of the contact 57 is reached. Ifa starting delay is to be expected in the motor, the contact 57 ispositioned in such a way that the spring 56 still makes a sufficientforce reserve available, even below this threshold.

FIG. 12 shows the possibility of combining another ball container 3 awith a primary ball container 3. The conveyor of the other ballcontainer 3 a conveys the balls located in it, via a hose 61, into areceiving orifice 62 provided on the ball container 3.

In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the two ball containers 3, 3 a areconnected in parallel and convey the balls into the conveying hose 2directly or via a hose 61.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for storing projectile balls and forfeeding them to the projectile chamber of a hand weapon comprising aball container with a conveying tube which is connected at one end tothe ball container and the other end of which is readable to the weaponand with a conveyor for conveying a continuous row of balls out of theball container into the conveying tube, wherein the conveyor maintains aconveying force which is exerted constantly on the row of balls andwhich conveying force is transmitted by a spring means, the conveyingtube comprises a flexible conveying hose that is elastic in alongitudinal direction and the spring means is formed at least partiallyfrom elastic deformation of the conveying hose under the conveying forceexerted on the row of balls by the conveyor and the ball container isindependent of the weapon and is provided with a carrying fixture forcarrying the ball container independent of the weapon.
 2. The device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said spring means has a spring excursion andthe spring excursion of said spring means is at least as great as thediameter of a ball.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein thespring means is formed at least partially by a spring provided on theconveyor.
 4. The device as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising aprojectile weapon having a breech, wherein the row of balls leadsconstantly, without any gap, from the conveyor to the breech of theweapon.
 5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor isequipped with an independent energy supply.
 6. The device as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the conveyor is provided with a conveying motor and ameans for switching the conveying motor on and off when the conveyingforce or the spring excursion falls short of or exceeds a specificvalue.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at leastone additional ball container, wherein the ball container or theconveyor or the conveying hose is provided with a connecting orifice forthe connection of the outlet of the at least one additional ballcontainer.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising aplurality of ball containers, wherein said plurality of ball containersare connected in parallel.
 9. The device as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe balls elastically deform under compression and the spring means isformed at least partially from elastic deformation of the row of ballsunder the conveying force exerted on the row of balls by the conveyor.10. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the conveyor includes aspring, the balls elastically deform under compression and the springmeans is formed from energy stored in an elastically deformed conveyingtube, and elastically deformed row of balls and a compressed conveyorspring.
 11. A device for storing projectile balls and for feeding themto the projectile chamber of a hand weapon, said device comprising: atleast one ball container provided with a carrying fixture permitting theball container to be carried independent of the weapon; a flexibleconveying hose which is connected at one end to the ball container andthe other end of which is leadable to the weapon; and a conveyor forconveying a continuous row of balls out of the ball container into theconveying hose, wherein the conveyor comprises: a generally planarbottom face; a generally circular wall having an inner surface and anoutlet orifice connected to said conveying hose; and a rotor arrangedparallel with said bottom face and concentric with said wall and havinga direction of rotation about an axis of rotation, said rotor having acircumference and a plurality of radial projections from thecircumference which define ball spaces bounded by said projections andsaid wall inner surface, each said projection having a driving faceprojecting from the bottom side of said rotor, each said driving facebeing radially and axially inclined so that a ball received in a saidball space is pressed axially against said bottom face and radiallyoutwardly against said inside surface during rotation of said rotor. 12.The device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the driving face is formed bya freely rotatable roller.
 13. The device as claimed in claim 11,wherein a receiving cell, the width of which is considerably greaterthan the extent of a ball, is provided above that part of the conveyorwhich forms the driving face.